Óbuda University e‐Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012 Colours, Harmony, Historic Ambience in WestHungary
Gábor Winkler
H-9028 Páva utca 38/F, Győr /Hungary, e-mail: winklerg@kabelnet.hu, Mobil:
+36-30-9948-096
Abstract: In this paper I would like to discuss about the colours and harmony in the
rich historic milieu of West-Hungary in case of Győr, Sopron and Pápa.
Keywords: color, pattern, harmony
Along the western border of Hungary, through the margin of the Alps and the
Small Hungarian Plain where the highlands and the plain meet, there is a densely
populated network of settlements having developed during the thousands of years.
All settlements saved their own character, among others their typical urban
structure, the relation between buildings and open spaces, the formal appearance –
decoration and colour of buildings, the harmony between the urban areas and its
natural surroundings and the characteristic functions that the settlements has
acquired over time up to this day. The city’s unique structure, the houses, streets
and squares offer a characteristic atmosphere and are the most prominent
documents of West-Hungary’s rich history. I would like to present three of the
charming historic towns of “West-Pannonia” – Győr, Sopron and Pápa.
The settlements owe their existence to the geography of the area. The landscape
around the settlements, the relationships between the towns and its natural and
manmade surrounding is one of the secrets of harmony and richness of the towns.
Without doubt, one of the most important gifts of mother nature is also the gatelike characteristic of this region.
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G. Winkler Colours, harmony, historic ambience in West‐Hungary Fig. 1. Győr in the 16th century (Hufnagel 1597).
The landscape around Győr however retained characteristics of the preceding
millennia. Rivers springing from the Alps head towards the Danube. Numerous
water-courses of all sizes, including the Rábca, the Répce, the Keszeg, the Rába
and the Marcal rush towards the same spot searching for the South branch of
Danube, the Moson-Danube, where they virtually meet in one point. South of the
Basin of Győr, three ridges of hills are prominent. Among the wide Pannonhalma
Hills, Saint Paul Hill is the highest; to the east is Pannonhalma; and in the west
rises Felpéc. It is a rich, versatile, gentle landscape, suitable for establishing a
home, a land good for living. A safe river crossing connected the western
Viennese, Czech and Moravian Basins with the Carpathian Basin. For thousands
of years, people, migrant tribes and armies passed through this, one of the most
important points in Europe.
Fig. 2. Sopron in the 18th century (Werner 1750).
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Óbuda University e‐Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012 The magic landscape around the city Sopron hardly changed till today. The
widely spanning Sopron Basin is bordered from south-southwest by the Sopron
Mountains, from east by the Balf Hills. The slopes of Bécsi Hill and the rise of
Kuruc Hill are wedged in between both ranges. The low hills bisect the plain
being broken up further by Ikva and Rák (Crab) Brook. The distant surroundings
of the city is characterized by Lake Fertő (Neusiedlersee), a shallow sea to the
northeast, and by the plain Kisalföld (Small Hungarian Plain) to the east.
Fig. 3. Pápa in the 16th century (Hufnagel 1597).
The town of Pápa is situated in the middle of the Pápa Plain, south from the Small
Hungarian Plain, north from the Lake Balaton – not far from the Bakony
mountains.
The character of the towns, the typical urban patterns defined by the lots and
streets are in a close context with their history. Most of the settlements were
established by the Celtics, but the structure of the settlements were formed at the
time of the brightest period of the Roman Empire. During the period of the Middle
Age the structure of the towns was changed, the houses and flats was ever
increasing. The buildings were rebuilt and brought up to date again and again; and
their appearance was often changed as well. The life in the historic settlements in
West Hungary took place mainly within the city walls. The supremacy of the city
wall protecting the heart of the towns lasted till the beginning of the 18th century.
Győr – the one-time Arrabona – is the spiritual and economical center of the
Upper-Transdanubia, home of 130 000 people. The architecture bears witness to
an adventurous history: layered city structures demonstrate the settlement’s
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G. Winkler Colours, harmony, historic ambience in West‐Hungary diversity. The settlement built where rivers intersect has been continuously
inhabited since ancient times. The town has been established as a Roman military
camp and a surrounding “village” – a real curiosity in this part of the ancient
Pannonia – at the junction of the rivers Rába and the Moson-Danube.
The Hungarians first appeared in the area in the 10th century. In early medieval
times, the Chapter Hill was the residences of the Bishopric and the city for
civilians was established around the hill. The loose, fibrous structure of the town
was similar to the small villages on both sides of the river Danube where modest
houses were built on the hills, streams and dips followed the crooked courses of
narrow alleys. The early medieval structure of the outlying area of the fortress was
an irregular, web-like pattern of the suburban streets. Even today, most of the
early-medieval downtown with its tight, curved alleys, and narrow, short side
streets are still intact. The regular, rectangular street system with the four-sided
blocks of houses is the result from the late-medieval redevelopment of the city.
Fig. 4. Győr in the 19th century (Alajos Holló 1920).
From the first quarter of the 16th century, Győr became the border fortress of
Europe, The town was surrounded with walls fortified by unified up-to-date NewItalian bastions. Urban houses in Baroque style were raised on the grounds of the
former modest gable houses. The walls and gates of the fortress was demolished
in the years after 1828. In the 19th century began the improvement of Győr to the
south and east. The regular medieval streets of the city were further developed,
maintaining the existing reticular street system. New, broad streets were opened
along the former fortress walls, and a row of two-storied, elegant, middle-class
mansions in style of Historismus were built in along the riverbanks in the 19th
century. Most of the façades were green or blue at this time.
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Óbuda University e‐Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012 Fig. 5. The Székesfehérvári Gate in Győr
(Alajos Holló 1920).
The inner city of Sopron – the late Scarbantia – is still surrounded by the oval
shaped city wall of the Romans. Hungarians arrived into the area around 907.
They found the still standing Roman city walls. The walls were restored and
fortified again. The elliptic designed of the Roman city was inherited in Sopron’s
later and present structure. The towns grew rich during the Middle Ages: the
handicrafts and the commerce were prosperous.
Fig. 6. Sopron in the 16th century (János Kugler 1857).
A considerable number of the houses located in the heart of the historic
settlements originate from the Middle Ages. The newcomer Hungarians did not
built their tiny houses around the former regular Roman streets. Houses was at
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G. Winkler Colours, harmony, historic ambience in West‐Hungary first built in the inner side of the city walls, later opposite them. The narrow
houses with gable stood perpendicularly to the streets. The upper storey was
supported by stone consoles and decorated by stone framed gothic windows. The
streets showed a close character and friendly atmosphere. The gabled houses was
painted white or red. The line drawing on the edges of the houses imitated the
former stone architecture.
Fig. 7. Sopron Fire Tower in the 19th century
(Ferenc Storno junior 1920).
The most buildings lost step by step their gothic appearances after the greet fire in
1676 in the 17th century. The façades of the houses were rebuilt by elements of the
Baroque architecture. The Baroque façades were painted with lively, vivid, warm
and bright colours. Do not forget to look into the yards of the Baroque houses
decorated by loggias.
Commercial life boomed at the middle of the 19th century. The houses was built in
the style of Historismus. Buildings in classicist style was painted with soft grey
and blue colours. All neo-renaissance building received a stone-like character.
Houses in picturesque style of Late Historismus was painted with one soft pastellike colour. The theatre reconstructed in the style of Secession (Art Nouveau) by
architect István Medgyaszay was decorated with a colourful stucco. The façades
in the style of early modern movement with sweepingly curved reinforce concrete
balconies and with flat roofs received a dazzling white colour. Only the frame of
the windows show high colours – often red or blue.
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Óbuda University e‐Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012 Fig. 8. Sopron The Fire Tower
with the Nep. St. Johann Chapel
(Ferenc Storno junior 1920).
Pápa is a nice, small town in West-Hungary with a celebrated history, great
traditions, important cultural values and Baroque ambience. The small town with
its 35.000 inhabitants was established by Hungarians in the 11th century. In the
middle ages there were eleven settlements in the today’s territory of the town.
Fig. 9. Pápa in the 18th century (Unknown Master).
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G. Winkler Colours, harmony, historic ambience in West‐Hungary The development of the settlement was due to the watermills on the stream of
Tapolca. The fortification of the family Garay was built in the 14th century. Next
to the castle, the market place was surrounded by high gabled small houses. The
modest village-like buildings were whitewashed.
As a defence against the Turkish attacks a simple rectangular fortress of stockade
was built in the year 1554. After the Turkish period Count Esterházy, the bishop
of Eger played an important part in rebuilding the town. The heart of the town is
the Main Square (Fő tér) with the Parish Church of St. Stephen the Martyr, behind
it the Esterházy Castle with a rich “Palatine Baroque Interior Exhibition”. The
presbytery mansions, the Botka House, Hotel Griffin, Zichy House and the
Kenessey-Szondy House were built in the style of Baroque. Also the façades of
the Benedictine church in the Main Street (Fő utca) received a modest lime
coating. The Museum of Blue Dyeing, one of Central Europe's oldest blue dye
works functioned in a 18th-century late Baroque building too.
Fig. 10. Győr Apáca Street (Alajos Holló. 1920).
But not only the high quality and richness of interiors and exteriors, scale, size,
style, construction, materials, colours and decoration of buildings in historic towns
must be preserved. Every historic town has an individual historic colour image. In
Győr, green, blue and lilac colours were popular, in Sopron the limestone yellow,
in Pápa the sand-drab from time immemorial. The typical colours of the towns
must be saved and restored.
Urban spaces surrounded by old houses need good pavements, street furniture
with fine design, lovely formed direction signs, terraces for the shops and coffee
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Óbuda University e‐Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012 houses and sweet shops with friendly atmosphere. Large squares covered with
white monolith cobblestone may be empty and uninteresting.
Fig. 11. Sopron The Town Theater
(Unknown Master 1850.).
The historic towns acquired various typical functions over time. The old traditions
of city life – headquarter of different religions, site for market, traditional schools
for high education, little shops with special articles made in the town, etc. – must
be preserved.
Fig. 12. Győr Duna Gate Squere
(György Opitz 1930.).
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G. Winkler Colours, harmony, historic ambience in West‐Hungary Historic towns often exude an aroma of local flowers, a pleasant smell of new
bread, scent of coffee houses etc. And at least but not last: all old settlements
have special sound effects. The peal of bells, the sound of trumpets in the fire
tower, organ in the church, the voice of muezzins, the blur of citizens, the
swarming of tourists and the snatch of the music school. All these fine sound
effects can enrich the ambience. At the same time, the rough crash of town
fountains – there are very fashionable in today’s Europe – can disturb the historic
feeling and the whole atmosphere of the towns.
Fig. 13. Győr Duna Gate Square
(Antal Fruhman 1845.).
All settlements in West-Hungary has undergone a great improvement in the fields
of both town-planning and town embellishment since 1974. Thorough integrated
research into the history and historic environment of the towns was carried out at
first. The town planner collected rich pictorial material containing views and
historic colours of the town, as documented through the centuries. In the years
after 1980, most Hungarian architects and town planners followed these methods:
good historical surveys of old towns became the norm as an important part of a
town planner's work to save the harmony, colours and ambience in historic towns.
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Óbuda University e‐Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012 Fig. 14. Győr Sarló Street
(Dénes Csánky 1930.).
References
[1]
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